On Jan 13, 1:23*am, Stealth Pilot
wrote:

your chemotherapy looks to be amazing from here.
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With only one personal bout with cancer on which to base my opinions,
I'm sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Over the past six
months I've even had a couple of geezers tell me how lucky I am.
(Turned out, one of them was ten years younger than me... which his
running mate shared with me as part of the package that included
letting me know I wouldn't be seeing 'the kid' at our monthly Drip
Session any more. [Zometa {lookit up} They poke a hose in your arm
and let you lay there while it goes drip-drip-drip.] ) My Zometa
sessions are scheduled monthly; others aren't so lucky. But since the
lab 'cooks' your dosage right there on the premises, they try to
schedule a batch of us at the same time. Since you're laying there
for up to four hours (!) they often turn into chat-sessions. Which
leads to some interesting friendships.

Labs, on the other hand (at east for blood work) are typically walk-
ins, although I try to do mine on the same day of the week and at
about the same time, so as to improve my odds of getting one of the
more competent phlebotomists (in my opinion). This also meshes for
picking up prescriptions at the doctor's office, and having them
filled at a pharmacy just around the corner... sort of One-Stop
Schlepping.

Medical 'conferences' are among the most difficult scheduling chores,
although as the thrill of electronics seeps into the world of Dr.
Kildare, medical conferencing via computer appears to becoming more
the norm than the exception. And certainly saves on tires & gas. But
I hate the thought of people turning to me for advice (or even
information) on such things since it implies I've become something of
medical groupy, where the Winner is the one having the most deadly
disease. Still, my initial encounters with the Medical System lead to
a number of surprises, not all of them good. It would probably be
for the good if more people had better access to VALID information
about American medical care and insurance. As it is, most of us are
victimized twice, one by the disease then again by the medical system.

-Bob